If one has Vonage, and a bluetooth dongle on the computer, is it possible to use a the same bluetooth headset that one uses with one’s cell phone with it? If so, what’s involved?
Fred Thompson On The Incompetence Of Government
…and it’s permanence:
A big part of the problem is our outmoded civil-service system that makes it too hard to hire good employees and too hard to fire bad ones. The bureaucracy has become gargantuan, making accountability and reform very difficult.
Faced with this managerial swampland, the number of talented executives willing to come to Washington continues to dwindle. Those who do accept the challenges usually want to tackle big national goals in the few years they spend in public service instead of fighting their own agencies. So the bureaucracy just keeps rolling along.
And anyone who thinks that things would be better if we changed parties in the White House are deluding themselves.
Clintonian
Apparently it was a “someone else’s culpa.” I always love that passive voice. It takes me back to the nineties.
Synergy
There’s a lot of interesting discussion over at Space Politics about NASA’s budget dilemma. Al Fansome makes a very interesting point, that needs to be turned into a policy paper:
There are other clear
I’m An Auto-Bahner
What kind of driver are you?
Though, actually, I’m not a full auto-bahner. I rarely drive that much over the limit (typically ten MPH at most) unless I’m way out in the middle of nowhere (like back roads in Nevada), and I get a speeding ticket about once every five years or so. But I’ve never used a radar detector, either, which probably would have helped.
I never accept a red rental car, though. I think they’re cop bait. I also avoid the left lane except for passing. I’ve only gotten one speeding ticket in the right lane (back in ’99). I think that cops look for speeders in the left lane.
I recall one incident many years ago, when I was going up to Princeton from DC for Gerry O’Neill’s funeral, with another spacer (who was an early L-5 member, but shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) in his rental car. He was a left laner, and I told him repeatedly that he was asking for a ticket, particularly since we were in Maryland, which is notorious in regard to ticketing speeders. Sure enough, he got pulled over.
I also recall seeing another space enthusiast passing us, and laughing when he saw who just got pulled over. Not to mention chiding him after the service. I accepted no responsibility whatsoever. I’d warned him.
I’m An Auto-Bahner
What kind of driver are you?
Though, actually, I’m not a full auto-bahner. I rarely drive that much over the limit (typically ten MPH at most) unless I’m way out in the middle of nowhere (like back roads in Nevada), and I get a speeding ticket about once every five years or so. But I’ve never used a radar detector, either, which probably would have helped.
I never accept a red rental car, though. I think they’re cop bait. I also avoid the left lane except for passing. I’ve only gotten one speeding ticket in the right lane (back in ’99). I think that cops look for speeders in the left lane.
I recall one incident many years ago, when I was going up to Princeton from DC for Gerry O’Neill’s funeral, with another spacer (who was an early L-5 member, but shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) in his rental car. He was a left laner, and I told him repeatedly that he was asking for a ticket, particularly since we were in Maryland, which is notorious in regard to ticketing speeders. Sure enough, he got pulled over.
I also recall seeing another space enthusiast passing us, and laughing when he saw who just got pulled over. Not to mention chiding him after the service. I accepted no responsibility whatsoever. I’d warned him.
I’m An Auto-Bahner
What kind of driver are you?
Though, actually, I’m not a full auto-bahner. I rarely drive that much over the limit (typically ten MPH at most) unless I’m way out in the middle of nowhere (like back roads in Nevada), and I get a speeding ticket about once every five years or so. But I’ve never used a radar detector, either, which probably would have helped.
I never accept a red rental car, though. I think they’re cop bait. I also avoid the left lane except for passing. I’ve only gotten one speeding ticket in the right lane (back in ’99). I think that cops look for speeders in the left lane.
I recall one incident many years ago, when I was going up to Princeton from DC for Gerry O’Neill’s funeral, with another spacer (who was an early L-5 member, but shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) in his rental car. He was a left laner, and I told him repeatedly that he was asking for a ticket, particularly since we were in Maryland, which is notorious in regard to ticketing speeders. Sure enough, he got pulled over.
I also recall seeing another space enthusiast passing us, and laughing when he saw who just got pulled over. Not to mention chiding him after the service. I accepted no responsibility whatsoever. I’d warned him.
I Got Six Out Of Eight
I screwed up number two, because I didn’t read carefully, and thought it was asking about the minute hand (which was simple–a hundred twenty degrees). And I couldn’t manage number five in my head. I was trying to do the algebra, and couldn’t manage it. And a couple of them, as noted, are trick questions.
And I certainly wouldn’t have done that well at age eight.
Cost
Clark Lindsey has some thoughts:
NASA lost public support after Apollo 11 for many reasons but cost was the primary factor. It didn’t help that no one could see themselves ever traveling on such a stupendously expensive throwaway system like Apollo. Today NASA managers should not be surprised that few people, especially young people, are excited about seeing NASA build yet another totally impractical and stupendously expensive machine to carry another small elite group of astronauts to the Moon by some arbitrary date.
[Update in the evening of the thirteenth]
Dan Schrimpsher, who is “just an engineer,” has some further thoughts.
Mislearning Lessons From History
Jonathan Chait has some words of caution for his fellow Bush haters.